Events
UNIMED General Assembly
UNIMED General Assembly of - Mediterranean Universities Union – was held at the University of Salento Rectorate, in Lecce from July 7th to July 9th.
UNIDO ITPO Italy was glad to be present at this event. In this context, the Office participated as speaker within the Workshop titled “International Planning and Cooperation”, entirely dedicated to the opportunities for international cooperation activities looking to guarantee a development of local capacity building as well as the meeting between the research field and enterprises. Other relevant speakers attended the workshop as Claudio Bogliotti (DG Research and Innovation – International Cooperation Policy), Anna Catte (Joint managing Authority Director, ENPI CBC Med Programme, Sardinia Region), Abdel Monem Kareem (European Union Delegate to Egypt), Maria Luisa Losavio (Puglia Region – Cross Border Cooperation between Balkans and Mediterranean), Augusta Roux (International Affairs department at Politecnico of Turin) e Raniero Chelli (UNIMED Project Coordinator for European Projects).
UNIMED celebrates this year its 20th anniversary after it was founded in 1991. Several issues regarding the future of the scientific cooperation within the Mediterranean area and the international academic cooperation emerged during the workshops activities and the international Conference of July 8th. The event counted on the participation of the delegates from the European Commission, World Bank, EIB (European Investment Bank), UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization), UPM (Union for the Mediterranean), Sardinia Region for ENPI CBC MED and Puglia Region for cross-border cooperation and on the presence of all representatives from UNIMED associated Universities.
Academies and Institutions from both the Mediterranean sides were represented in the international Conference and have reaffirmed the necessity to strengthen the Euro-Mediterranean scientific cooperation, and the mobility of students and researchers in order to provide the Universities with a leading role in reinforcing democratic institutions throughout the Southern Countries.
It is worth mentioning that “UNIMED-Students Association”, recently created within UNIMED network, organized a workshop on the mobility of students within the Mediterranean area. This workshop has seen the active participation of students and representatives of youth shields and resulted in a draft of a final appeal aimed at facilitating interconnections and cooperation between universities with the goal of encouraging a students and researches mobility within the Euro Mediterranean area. Within this context, a petition has been proposed and currently undersigned by some Euro members of parliament, in order to endeavour the European Commission to create an Euro-Mediterranean Erasmus and Leonardo da Vinci Programme.
During the Assembly of July 8th Professor Eng. Domenico Laforgia, Rector of the University of Salento, was appointed as new UNIMED President, while Mohammad Hussein el Kamel, Rector of Cairo University, was appointed as Vice-President.
